Carmelo Anthony has been bothered by the perception in the media that he was unhappy with the Knicks‘ offseason moves, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays in a series of tweets. The forward denied saying anything disparaging about team president Phil Jackson‘s machinations, and though he would have preferred that the team add another star player via free agency, Anthony said that the Knicks made some solid additions, Herring adds. Anthony also acknowledged that New York was put in a difficult spot in this year’s draft by selecting fourth, and that any player picked in that slot would have needed time to develop before being expected to contribute, including Kristaps Porzingis, who he praised for playing with a chip on his shoulder, notes the Wall Street Journal scribe.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks are close to hiring Mike Miller, a former associate head coach at Kansas State, as coach of their D-League affiliate in Westchester, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News tweets.
- Donald Sloan‘s deal with the Nets will pay him $1,015,421 for the 2015/16 campaign, and includes a partial guarantee of $50k, with another $150k becoming guaranteed if he remains on the roster past November 1st, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter).
- Nets 2015 second-rounder Juan Pablo Vaulet will be out of action for four months following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right ankle, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays. There is still no timetable for when Vaulet will make the jump to the NBA, and the 19-year-old is the first to admit that he isn’t ready for the league just yet, Windrem adds.“They [Brooklyn] chose me for later,” Vaulet told La Nueva, an Argentine newspaper. “Everything requires a process. I now do not feel ready to play there. I do not want to rush the process. If one day I can get there, that’s welcome. I have to first recover and then yes. I do not know how long. Maybe I can play in the NBA. Everything depends on me.“
It would have been thoroughly unbecoming of Carmelo to use the Team USA combine, where he made these comments, to attack the Knicks. So, even if he doesn’t really believe in Phil, this was by far the most politically correct thing to say.
Short of drafting Justise Winslow, I’m not sure what Melo could have expected, so its good that he said these things.
The team added 5-6 NBA caliber rotation players via free agency, one of the most NBA ready prospects in Jerian Grant and a high upside project is Kristaps. This team can compete for the playoffs if Anthony is healthy.